​When the Westin Jackson hotel (407 S. Congress St.) opens near Thalia Mara Hall and the federal courthouse in August 2017, it will bring Estelle Wine Bar & Bistro with it. The restaurant aims to be a cafe bar by day and an upscale hotspot at night, featuring American dishes with European influences.

"Estelle is going to be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will cater to people from the suburbs, downtown residents and business people alike," Mike Burton, general manager of Westin Jackson, told the Jackson Free Press in April.

"Our closeness to places like Thalia Mara Hall, the Jackson Convention Center, the Mississippi Museum of Art and plenty more places, means we're in a great position to provide a unique dining option to people going to see a play, for example, who can then come back, have a glass of wine and stay with us."

Estelle's will have a wine bar, a lounge, a patio and an open kitchen. The menu will feature locally sourced produce and ingredients, appetizers and shareable plates, and entrees such as char-grilled tuna, salmon sashimi, grilled fish and steaks. The restaurant will also have a wood-fired oven for preparing flatbreads and pizzas.

"I was once a chef myself in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and when I came down to Jackson, I was so impressed with the restaurant scene here," Burton said. "I didn't realize just how prevalent seafood is here in Jackson, for one, and I love it here for that. When we announce our head chef for Estelle in a few weeks, I think people are going to see how we've made sure to understand the kind of great establishments Jackson is known for to create a great menu of our own."

New South Jackson Grocer

Greg Price, who owns grocery store Jackson Cash & Carry with his brother, Chester Price, partnered with Hope Credit Union and Hope Enterprise Corporation this spring to move the business from 1204 W. Capitol St. to 3520 Terry Road. The store now occupies the former Kroger location that closed in 2015, leaving part of south Jackson a "food desert"—an area with limited access to fresh food options.

Hope provided Price with $1.25 million in financing for acquisition, renovation and working capital through its Mid South Healthy Food Initiative, a program that increases access to nutritious food in communities that lack these options.

The Healthy Food Initiative receives support from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and private investors.

In addition to bringing fresh food options into the area, Price's store brings 25 new jobs to the capital city.

New Apartments Opening at Eastover

The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive), a multi-use development in northeast Jackson, will begin renting out apartment space in the coming months. The building includes 115,000 square feet of office space on five floors and an adjacent 400-space parking garage. Move-ins for people who have already reserved space will begin in June, and the apartments will be open to all comers by August.

There are 261 apartment units at The District. Renters can choose from five styles of one-bedroom apartments ranging from 572 to 838 square feet, two styles of two-bedroom units ranging from 958 to 1,136 square feet, and three-bedroom units at 1,358 square feet.

Amenities include an elevated saltwater pool, a sun deck, two outdoor kitchens with a dining terrace, a double-sided outdoor fireplace, a two-story open-air resident lounge, a fitness studio and an indoor pet spa.

The District also includes restaurants and shops such as Cantina Laredo Modern Mexican, Freshii, a local market and butcher, a sushi bar, Orange Theory Fitness, Origin Bank and Results Physiotherapy.

For more information, call 601-366-8588, visit thedistrictloftsateastover.net or email thedistrictlofts@arlingtonproperties.net.

Housing at Helm Place

The Helm Place affordable -housing development community in the Farish Street Historic District has won two awards for its design. The 88-townhome development won the Best of American Living Gold Award in 2016 for the Best Affordable Single-Family Attached Housing category. It also won the Mississippi Homebuilders Association Multi-Family New Construction award in 2016.

Gov. Phil Bryant visited the community May 10. "We are rebuilding downtown Jackson one home and one family at a time," Bryant said. "I'm excited because of the real change it will make in the lives of the children here in their educational, emotional well-being."

Helm Place is named after Mount Helm Baptist Church, the oldest African American church in Jackson, located nearby. Chartre Consulting Ltd., an Oxford-based company, built the development in 2014 with housing tax credits administered through the Mississippi Home Corp., made possible with federal Housing and Urban Development funds.

The wait list for Helm Place is quite long, and developers plan to expand the community and add more townhomes in the future.

Woodrow Wilson Place is a 10,000-square-foot retail site that currently houses Mississippi Smiles Dentistry, Mississippi EyeCare Associates, a Subway restaurant and a Cricket Wireless store.

The Medical Mall Foundation completed construction on the facility in summer 2016 and began to bring in businesses shortly after.

Gertrude C. Ford Literacy Garden

In April, the Mississippi Children's Museum announced the naming of the Gertrude C. Ford Literacy Garden, a 13,000-square-foot outdoor gallery that first opened in the summer of 2014. The Gertrude C. Ford Foundation made a $500,000 commitment for the Literacy Garden.

The Literacy Garden is designed to encourage early language and reading development for children 8 years old and under.

It includes literary-inspired sculptures, native plants and an edible garden, among other features. The museum uses the space to host activities such as "Know to Grow," a monthly program that combines storytelling with hands-on gardening activities.

The American Automobile Association selected the Literacy Garden as a Southern Travel Treasure in 2014. In spring 2017, the Institute of Museum and Library Services nominated the Mississippi Children's Museum as a finalist for the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, which is the United States' highest honor for institutions that make significant contributions to their communities.

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